Choices of one
by TheShadowTracker
Summary: Roran is a strong independent Nord. What will happen when he turns into a hero of legends? How will he start his new life, while still dealing with his past? This is my story of Skyrim with my own Dragonborn, Roran. Will eventually contain spoilers to Dragonborn and Dawnguard, and there will be spoilers to the game from the start.
1. Chapter 1

Roran walked up the several steps to Dragonsreach. A guard on his way down stepped aside as he passed.

_Word must travel fast, _thought Roran.

He had just killed a dragon with the Jarls housecarl and some guards out at the Western watchtower and had absorbed some kind of energy from the dead dragon. The guards had taken to calling him Dragonborn, but he wasn't too sure if he should jump to conclusions like them. He couldn't explain the energy, but he was no mage. As far as he knew, it was normal for all dragon slayers to absorb some kind of energy. He _was _closest to the dragon when it died, perhaps why he got the power. But then there was that shout... the raw power in one word he spoke without really even trying...Roran shook his head. He could figure it out later and had more pressing matters at hand. He had to report to the Jarl, and then find some new armor. As Roran reached the top of the stairs he took a breath and looked behind him. He could see the entire city below him and everyone going about their business.

_**DO-VAH-KIIN!**_

A guard near him looked over at him expectantly.

_Well. I guess that rules out everything. I really am...Dragonborn._

As he walked towards Dragonsreach, a pair of guards opened the doors for him. He nodded to them and continued on inside.

Balgruuf was fairly certain many, if not all his men would die at the watchtower. He was surprised when Roran, the Nord from Helgen, walked up the steps.

"Ah good, your back. What news do you bring from the watchtower?" asked Jarl Balgruuf.

Roran could see the surprise in the Jarls eyes, but couldn't tell if he saw relief or fear on his body.

"When we arrived, the tower was completely destroyed. There was a lone survivor, but we didnt have much time to discuss the attack. The dragon was on us almost instantly. Your men fought valiantly and some died bravely. In the end we defeated it and I absorbed some kind of power from it. Your men have taken to calling me 'Dragonborn'." explained Roran.

"Dragonborn? What do you know about the Dragonborn?" asked the Jarl.

"When it died, I absorbed some kind of power from it." replied Roran.

"So its true. The Greybeards really were summoning you."

"Aye." said Roran "I made the same conclusion when they shouted."

The Jarl went on about explaining the Greybeards and the role of the Dragonborn with the people nearby for quite some time.

"My apologies Roran, but as a Nord you must understand how long its been since something like this happened."

Roran nodded, still not entirely believing it himself.

"For saving my people and for being Whiteruns savior, I use my power as Jarl to make you thane of Whiterun. Its the highest possible honor within my power to grant." Exclaimed Balgruuf.

Roran was shocked. Being thane could hold an untold amount of perks he might use. But also because this was one of the highest things he had ever achieved in Skyrim...yet. He knew if he truly was Dragonborn, there was bound to be more adventures ahead.

"Thank you my Jarl, I am honored to be your thane." responded Roran.

"Ah, but that's not all. I will assign you Lydia as a personal housecarl, and you may head down to the armory to choose a weapon to show as your badge of office. It will take half a day for Lydia to be prepared and suited up to leave with you, if waiting is not a problem for you."

"Of course not my Jarl, I was planning on staying the night at the Bannered Mare regardless." said Roran.

"Very good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go congratulate the men on their success."

Roran bowed and walked towards the Dragonsreach doors. His head was swimming with thoughts. He was Dragonborn, he very well could be the most important person in Skyrim. On top of that, he now was thane of a large city and would have a personal housecarl. Lydia... at least it sounded good to the ear.

Roran wandered around the city and quickly became amused at how peoples moods changed towards him. When he first showed up, the guards treated him like a nobody, and told him to keep out of their way. Now they acted respectfully towards him and stayed out of _his _way. He made his way over to a blacksmith shop where a woman was beating away at a molten piece of steel.

"Need any help?" Asked Roran.

The woman looked up from her work and quickly looked him over.

"It depends. I cant pay you for your work, and you need to be able to make a decent blade" replied the woman.

"Well you have your man. I'm Roran." Roran held out his hand.

She took his hand and shook. "Adrianne."

"I have some materials with me to make you some Orcish weapons, in return I would only request the materials to make a full set of steel plate armor. If thats enough." Said Roran.

Adrianne considered it for a moment. She looked at Roran and saw his current iron band armor was unusable in its current condition. The iron was _torn _in several places and he was missing a gauntlet. A greatsword and some axes could cover steel plate materials.

"Alright, you have yourself a deal. Craft an Orcish greatsword and a couple of war axes and ill provide the materials for the steel plate armor."

Roran nodded and got out the materials he would need.

_I have just enough ingots to make those. Good thing I stopped by that bandit hole on the way back from bleak falls barrow._

Roran began crafting the Orcish weapons, a hard task for a Nord. But he was a good blacksmith and he could craft them and his armor before sundown. His thoughts began wandering about his future as he began the challenging yet fun work of smithing fine weapons.

Lydia was laying on her bed in the guard barracks. All around her the guards were furiously talking about Whiteruns newest thane, an apparent Dragonborn. She heard the summons from the Greybeards and was very surprised to know the Dragonborn was staying in the city for the day. She wanted to meet him or at least go and see what he looked like, but _Irileth had told her to stay put because of an important assignment coming up. She had polished her sword and gotten her armor ready, and now she was waiting for Irileth to come give her the assignment. Finally after what seemed like hours she came up to Lydia._

_"Lydia, the time has come."_

_Lydia looked up at Irileth questioningly. _

"You mean I-

"Yes, the Jarl has appointed a new thane and has assigned you as his personal housecarl." Said Irileth.

Lydia was shocked.

Her voice a little quieter, Lydia asked "Is he the Dragonborn?"

Irileth sighed. "I dont know if its Nord nonsense or not, but he certainly has a special power. He killed a dragon out at the Western watchtower, saving countless lives. If what your asking is, is your thane the 'Dragonborn of legends'...then I'm not sure what to tell you. All I know is, I'm not sure if he _needs_ a housecarl, but you should get prepared to go, hes probably going to be heading to the top of the mountain to consult the Greybeards." Explained Irileth.

Lydia was a little saddened. How could she, a Nord raised in the city from birth, possibly assist a dragon slayer? Of course shed always wanted to be a housecarl, but this might be her undoing.

Irileth seemed to feel what she was feeling.

"Lydia, I, and countless guards here have trained you since your childhood, and you have waited your whole life for a chance to be a housecarl. This is your chance. Dont sit around sulking, grow a backbone!" Exclaimed Irileth. "Or would you rather have another housecarl take your place?"

Lydia jumped up and said "I will make the best housecarl you have ever seen!"

"Make Whiterun proud Lydia!" Shouted Irileth

With that, Lydia marched off with her gear to Dragonsreach to meet her new thane. She would do her duties as best as possible and not disappoint the Jarl, or the Dragonborn.

**Alright. Thats the first chapter of my Skyrim story! Please review, any help is appreciated! Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was late at night when Roran finally finished pounding his hammer and finished his set of steel plate armor. He neglected to make a helmet, as he rarely used one anyway. He added a symbol of the Dragonborn on the left upper breast of the torso, and the emblem of Whiterun on the right shoulder plate. As he preferred dual wielding, and using a bow, or even the occasional two handed weapon, he did not make a shield, nor did he have any materials to do so. As he put on his new armor, and shed his ruined iron armor, he figured he would head down to the armory to find a sword or weapon to 'serve as his badge of office', as the Jarl put it. He wrote a simple note for Adrianne, showing his thanks, and then set off towards the armory.

* * *

As Roran looked through the available weapons, he frowned. He was hoping for something...more. Out of everything available, he couldn't find a weapon as nice as his ebony sword. He patted the sword at his hip and remembered how he got it only a few days ago...

"_Faendal! Look out!" Shouted Roran._

"_Its ok, Roran. This draugr is no match for me!" replied Faendal with a smirk on his face._

"_Faendal, trust me, this is no ordinary draugr. You overestimate your abilities!"_

_Roran looked on in disgust as the Draugr Overlord grabbed Faendal, spun him around, and plunged his ebony sword through Faendals back and out his chest. Roran had only met the elf earlier that day, when he asked Roran to deliver a fake letter to the girl he liked. Roran went to the girl and told her about the fake letter, but told her to not do anything about it yet. He went back to the elf and lied to him, and Faendal was overjoyed, thinking the girl no longer liked his competition. Roran then asked Faendal to accompany him to Bleak Falls Barrow. Several dead draugr later, and the elf proved his worth with a bow. Seeing as he had no armor, Roran was surprised he made it this long._

_The draugr laughed an evil laugh and pulled the sword out of Faendal's corpse. Roran reacted instantly, running forward and shoving his steel sword up through its chin and out the top of his head. The draugr died instantly and Roran kicked its corpse for extra measure. Roran bent down and took the ebony sword from the bony hand of its former owner. Roran swung it a few times and sheathed it. After he grabbed the Dragonstone and learned the powerful word he would use soon, he picked up Faendals body, and sealed him inside the draugr's sarcophagus. He figured it was better than dragging his body all the way back to Riverwood._

Roran shook his head. He looked at the weapons again and grabbed an imperial bow with a fire enchantment on it.

* * *

As he walked outside the armory, he noticed it was now very late into the night. He headed up towards Dragonsreach. Guards noticed his new armor and seemed very impressed, but tried not to stare. As he walked in the large doors, he saw a Nord woman sitting on the stairs. She looked as if she had been there awhile, and looked very tired. When she spotted him, she jumped up and walked towards him.

"I take it your Lydia?" Asked Roran.

"Yes. The Jarl has appointed me to be your housecarl. I will protect you, and all you own, with my life." replied Lydia.

"Lets hope it doesn't have to come to your life, I would prefer a living housecarl over a dead one. My names Roran."

Lydia bowed and said "It is nice to finally meet you, my thane."

Lydia looked at the man in front of her. He was wearing stunning steel plate armor, and she could see a symbol on his chest and Whiterun's mark on his shoulder. Standing taller over her, she looked up at his features. He had long, thick black hair, and stunning blue eyes. He had 3 scars on his right cheek, going up to his eye, that looked like claw marks. Finally, she saw he had perfectly straight teeth.

_He looks..._

Roran raised his eyebrows.

"You look like you've seen something out of legends, Lydia." Said Roran, smirking.

"My apologies my thane! I was just trying to figure out what could have given you those scars on your face." Lydia stammered out while blushing furiously.

A guard chuckled behind them.

"Ah. These..."

Roran reached up and ran his fingers across the marks on his face.

"I was attacked by a saber cat, when I was still young. It was young too, or else I probably wouldn't be here today. After it pounced on me and attacked, I used my only weapon, a small iron dagger, and cut its belly to oblivion. When the guards found me, I was covered in its blood, and these scars are my only reminder."

Lydia was surprised. She didn't think she would have survived that situation, especially with just a dagger.

"Its late. We should get to the Bannered Mare because we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Ill explain it more in the morning, but we will need our rest." Said Roran.

Lydia nodded, and followed in step behind her thane. She sometimes doubted her abilities, but she would do her best to serve Roran, even if it cost her life.

* * *

**There we go! Chapter two! Im not sure how long my updates will take, it could be anywhere from a few days to a week long. It all depends on how many people actually are reviewing and following, and my personal life. Speaking of which, my laptop no longer charges, and im not sure when it will get fixed. But when I send it off to be fixed, ill post an update saying an estimate of how long it will be before I update again. **

**Anyways, feel free to review! Until next time.**


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